''The Bodyguard'', also known as ''My Beloved Bodyguard'', (Chinese: 特工爺爺) is a 2016 Hong Kong Chinese action film starring and directed by

Sammo Hung Sammo Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreographer for ...

in his first film as directed since 1997, and produced by

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

, who making a special appearance. The film was released on 1 April 2016.

Plot

The film is set in the 2000s in a medium-sized Chinese city located in northeast China, close to the Russian border. An old, overweight man named Ding witnesses a man being stabbed by a gang, but when he is summoned by the police to identify the suspect, he hesitates and is unable to. The police research Ding's background and discover that he is a retired

Central Security Bureau The Central Guard Bureau of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party (), also nominally affiliated with the army and the police as the Guard Bureau of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission () and the Ninth Burea ...

officer from Beijing, and they figure that he is suffering from

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

. Back at his home, Ding is frequently invited for supper by his land-lord, Park, an elderly lady who is attracted to him. Ding, in turn, frequently cares for a little girl next door named Cherry, whose father, Li, is an abusive

gambler Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...

. When Li becomes heavily in debt because of his gambling, Choi, a Chinese person of Korean descent, who happens to be the leader of the aforementioned gang, forces Li to embark on a criminal assignment. Li is driven to a hotel and told to steal the shoulder-bag of a Russian gang leader. The alarm is raised but Li escapes with the bag after a protracted chase. However, upon being told that his debt isn't absolved, Li goes into hiding, taking the bag with him. Choi reacts by sending men to abduct Li's daughter. Meanwhile, the Russian gang leader feels angry and plans an attack against Choi's gang for violating their territory. Choi's gang members follow Cherry and assault Ding's home after she enters it, but to their dismay, Ding proves to be a remarkable fighter, and they are repelled. To avoid arrest, two of them are sent by Choi to hide in the countryside. The police, noticing that Li has disappeared, send Cherry to live with her aunt and uncle. However, within a short time, the aunt and uncle wish to eject her, and Ding agrees to provide for her living. Then one night, Cherry goes missing, and what is more, Li suddenly appears in Ding's home, bringing money in order to compensate Ding for his service. As Li exits the house, he is assaulted by Choi's gang and killed, and the shoulder-bag is taken back. Ding, who has been plagued with guilt for years, ever since his granddaughter went missing on a hiking trip, resolves to bring Cherry back using force. He visits the gambling house demanding Cherry's release, and when Choi's gang attempts to kill him, he overpowers around 20 of them including a skilled knife assassin. At that moment, some of the Russian gang members appear and start to kill the rest of Choi's men in an attempt to reclaim their stolen money. Seeing this, Choi escapes, but not before Ding wounds his leg. The Russians proceed to attack Ding, believing that he works for Choi, and Ding is forced to kill them. At the same time, the police, led by Park's son, chase after two leaders of the Russian gang, who die when they collide with a truck. Choi, who thinks he is safe, is approached by the two subordinates he sent into the countryside. They proceed to murder Choi and to rob him, having accepted a Russian bribe to do so. In the aftermath of the incident, Ding's dementia worsens, and he is paralyzed by the loss of Cherry. The police make no attempt to blame Ding, recognizing that his actions were

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force ...

. Suddenly, Cherry returns, revealing that she simply ran off to live at a friend's house. Even as Ding forgets his family members, he remembers his relationship with Cherry, who cares for him well into his senescence. In a scene after the credits, the two countryside criminals accidentally encounter a group of drilling PLA military police, who turn and give chase. After a short chase the remaining criminals are captured.

Cast

;Main cast *

as ''Ding Hu'' *

Zhu Yuchen Zhu Yuchen (; born February 27, 1979) is a Chinese film actor. He dated Tang Wei since 1995 and split shortly before both graduated from the Central Academy of Drama The Central Academy of Drama (), abbreviated Zhong Xi (), is a drama school ...

as ''Park Chan-Seong, Madam Park's son who work as cop'' *Li Qinqin as ''Park Seo-Neon, Ding's neighbour'' *Feng Jiayi as ''Choi Dong-hoon'' *Jacqueline Chan as ''Cherry Li, Li Zheng Jiu's daughter'' ;Special appearance *

as ''Li Zheng Jiu'' ;Guest appearances *

Hu Jun Hu Jun (born March 18, 1968) is a Chinese actor best known for playing dramatic roles in various films and television series. He has acted in a number of Hong Kong films. Biography Hu Jun was born on March 18, 1968, to Wang Yiman (), a drama ac ...

as ''Cop #3'' *

Feng Shaofeng Feng Shaofeng (, born October 7, 1978), also known as William Feng, is a Chinese actor. Feng rose to fame with the hit time travel series ''Palace'' (2011). He was ranked 33rd on 2012's Forbes China Celebrity 100 list. He won the Hundred Flowers A ...

as ''Doctor Hu'' *

Eddie Peng Eddie Peng Yu-Yan (; born 24 March 1982) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and model. Personal life Peng was born in Penghu, Taiwan. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of thirteen. In 2000, he graduated from Sir Winston Church ...

as ''Cop #2'' * Song Jia as ''Cherry's mother'' *

Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, vi, Từ Khắc, born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as '' Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' (1983), the ...

as ''Old Man #3'' *

Karl Maka Karl Maka (born 29 February 1944) is a Hong Kong film producer, director, actor and presenter. Early life On 29 February 1944, Maka was born as Mak Kar-sheung in Taishan, China. In 1958, at age 14, Maka moved to Hong Kong. Education In 196 ...

as ''Old Man #2'' *

Dean Shek Dean Shek (17 June 1949 – 20 September 2021), also known as Dean Shek Tin, was a Hong Kong film actor and producer with over 72 film credits to his name. Shek was perhaps best known as Professor Kai-hsien in the 1978 film ''Drunken Master'', ...

as ''Old Man #1'' *

Yuen Biao Yuen Biao (born Ha Lingchun; 26 July 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist and stuntman. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has also worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer. He was one ...

as ''Cop #1'' *

Yuen Qiu Cheung Cheun-Nam, known professionally as Yuen Qiu (; born 19 April 1950), is a Hong Kong actress and martial artist. She is an expert of both Chinese martial arts and Beijing-opera skills, and was apprenticed at the Peking Opera School under t ...

as '' School teacher'' *

Yuen Wah Yuen Wah (born Yung Kai-chi; 2 September 1952) is a Hong Kong action film actor, action choreographer, stuntman and martial artist who has appeared in over 160 films and over 20 television series. Early life Born Yung Kai-chi on 2 September 195 ...

as ''Mail Man'' *Yuen Ting *Yuen Po *

Jonathan Kos-Read Jonathan Kos-Read (born 1973), also known as Cao Cao (), is an American film and television actor who has worked mostly in China. While well known in China, his work is little-known in the United States. Kos-Read uses the stage name Cao Cao, whic ...

as ''Ding's son-in-law'' * James Lee Guy as ''Sergei'' *Tomer Oz as ''Vasily'' *Yi Heng Du as ''Jin Si''

Production

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

was originally offered a role in the film. However, Chan turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts and his son

Jaycee Chan Jaycee Joming Chan (, born 3 December 1982), known professionally as Jaycee Chan, is an American singer and actor. In 2004, he released his first Mandarin CD album in Hong Kong. He later went to Taiwan to continue his music career. He is the son o ...

's recent drug arrest. Filming for ''The Bodyguard'' began in August 2014. On 22 September, guest star

filmed an action scene in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

, Russia in which he portrays a thief who stole a bag of diamonds and flees by jumping from a building to the top of a car. That same day, director

also said that there were only ten days of scenes left that had yet to be filmed. Filming took place in Suifenhe and

Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu: ''Mudan bira''), alternately romanized as Mutankiang, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast part of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It was called ''Botankou'' under Japanese occupation. It serves as ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

province of China and in Vladivostok, Russia and its surroundings. After arriving in Vladivostok on 18 September, the film crew of 150 members began shooting scenes two days later, which were being done near the Hotel Versailles, on Russky Island and at an old cemetery outside

Ussuriysk Ussuriysk (russian: Уссури́йск) is a city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located in the fertile valley of the Razdolnaya River, north of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai, and about from both the China–Russia border and ...

during a five-day-long shoot.

Reception

The film grossed on its opening day in mainland China and was number-one on the opening weekend, with (). It grossed worldwide.

References

External links